Company executives, press reps, and Spurr himself are keeping mighty quiet about his departure. A “financial source” that works with the company told WWD that Spurr’s co-founder Judd Nydes was “shocked”, though he indeed plans to continue the label without Spurr. Ilaria Urbaniti, one of the first buyers to pick up the brand and a personal friend of the designer’s, posited that “he must have been pretty unhappy to leave the company like that”. She will no longer carry Simon Spurr at her LA boutique.

Of course, the timing of all this only adds to the drama. Spurr left mere days after being nominated for the CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year award. His nomination is still valid; the prize takes into the account designers’ past two seasons of work. CFDA president Steven Kolb told WWD: “It’s the individual, not the company, that is nominated. I hope that the voters will vote on that body of work.”

We can’t imagine Spurr’s exit won’t stick in the minds of voters, though his designs are certainly coveted among the menswear set. More upsetting is the fact that Spurr very well may have given up the rights to his name. It’s possible Spurr will take the reins at an established brand some time in the future, but he may never produce a piece with the name Simon Spurr attached to it ever again. Or maybe he’ll return to his namesake brand, à la Jil Sander, in just a few years.